"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 502 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (636 × 760 pixels, file size: 516 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I took this photo on July 1, 1999 at the top of Pikes Peak File historyClick on a date/time to view the file... This article is about the mountain in Colorado. ... This is an incomplete list. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Katharine Lee Bates, (August 12, 1859 – March 28, 1929), is remembered as the author of the words to the anthem America the Beautiful. Bates was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Samuel Augustus Ward (28 December 1847 - 28 September 1903) was an American organist and composer. ... Image File history File links America_the_Beautiful. ... Image File history File links America_the_Beautiful. ... Image File history File links America_the_Beautiful. ... This is an incomplete list. ...

History

The words are by Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College. In 1893, Bates had taken a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College, and several of the sights on her trip found their way into her poem: Katharine Lee Bates, (August 12, 1859 – March 28, 1929), is remembered as the author of the words to the anthem America the Beautiful. Bates was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts. ... For other uses, see Wellesley College (disambiguation). ... Colorado Springs is most populous Home Rule Municipality in the State of Colorado. ... The Colorado College is a private four-year, co-educational liberal arts college located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ...

• The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the "White City" with its promise of the future contained within its alabaster buildings.
• The wheat fields of Kansas, through which her train was riding on July 4.
• The majestic view of the Great Plains from atop Pikes Peak.

On that mountain, the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room at the original Antlers Hotel. The poem was initially published two years later in The Congregationalist, to commemorate the Fourth of July. It quickly caught the public's fancy. Amended versions were published in 1904 and 1913. One-third scale replica of Daniel Chester Frenchs Republic, which stood in the great basin at the exposition, Chicago, 2004 The Worlds Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago Worlds Fair), a Worlds Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City 234. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation). ... This article is about the mountain in Colorado. ... These fireworks over the Washington Monument are typical of Fourth of July celebrations In the United States, Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday celebrating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. ...

Several existing pieces of music were adapted to the poem. The Hymn tune composed in 1882 by Samuel A. Ward, was generally considered the best music as early as 1910 and is still the popular tune today. Ward had been similarly inspired. The tune came to him while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City after a leisurely summer day, and he immediately wrote it down. Ward died in 1903, not knowing the national stature his music would attain. Miss Bates was more fortunate, as the song's popularity was well-established by her death in 1929. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Hymn. ... Samuel Augustus Ward (28 December 1847 - 28 September 1903) was an American organist and composer. ... For other uses, see Coney Island (disambiguation). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

At various times in the more than 100 years that have elapsed since the song as we know it was born, particularly during the John F. Kennedy administration, there have been efforts to give "America the Beautiful" legal status either as a national hymn, or as a national anthem equal to, or in place of, "The Star-Spangled Banner", but so far this has not succeeded. Proponents prefer "America the Beautiful" for various reasons, saying it is easier to sing, more melodic, and more adaptable to new orchestrations while still remaining as easily recognizable as "The Star-Spangled Banner." Some prefer "America the Beautiful" over "The Star-Spangled Banner" due to the latter's war-oriented imagery. (Others prefer "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the same reason.) While that national dichotomy has stymied any effort at changing the tradition of the national anthem, "America the Beautiful" continues to be held in high esteem by a large number of Americans. John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ...

Popularity of the song increased greatly following the September 11, 2001 attacks; at some sporting events it was sung in addition to the traditional singing of the national anthem. During the first taping of the Late Show with David Letterman following the attacks, CBS newsman Dan Rather cried briefly as he quoted the fourth verse. [1] A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... Late Show redirects here. ... Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr. ...

Ray Charles is credited with the song's most well known rendition in current times (although Elvis Presley had a good success with it in the 1970s). His recording is very commonly played at major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl; Charles gave a live performance of the song prior to Super Bowl XXXV, the last Super Bowl played before the September 11 terrorist attacks. His unique take on it places the third verse first, after which he sings the usual first verse. In the third verse (see below), the author scolds the materialistic and self-serving robber barons of her day, and urges America to live up to its noble ideals and to honor, with both word and deed, the memory of those who died for their country. Symbolicly, Marian Anderson (a noted opera singer of her day) sang a rendition of America on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being refused use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution because of her skin color. For the composer and conductor of the Ray Charles Singers, see Ray Charles (composer). ... Elvis redirects here. ... The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy. ... Date January 28, 2001 Stadium Raymond James Stadium City Tampa, Florida MVP Ray Lewis, Linebacker Favorite Ravens by 3 National anthem Backstreet Boys Coin toss Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Tom Flores, Bill Parcells Referee Gerald Austin Halftime show Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Nelly, Mary J. Blige and *NSYNC Attendance 71,921... This article addresses materialism in the economic sense of the word. ... John D. Rockefeller Sr. ... Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993),[1] was an American contralto, perhaps best remembered for her performance on Easter Sunday, 1939 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. // Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... The Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential memorial built to honor 16th President Abraham Lincoln. ... The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage membership organization[1] dedicated to promoting historic preservation, education, and patriotism. ...

It is often included in songbooks in a wide variety of religious congregations in the United States. Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual...

It has also become a tradition for the song to be performed at the start of the WWE event WrestleMania. Such artists to perform the song at the event include Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Reba McEntire, Little Richard, Boyz II Men, Ashanti, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Mariah Carey, Lilian Garcia and Michelle Williams. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... Official WrestleMania logo WrestleMania is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment since 1985. ... For the composer and conductor of the Ray Charles Singers, see Ray Charles (composer). ... Aretha Louise Franklin (born March 25, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American R&B/soul singer, actress and author. ... Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955) is a Grammy award winning American singer and country music performer, and actress. ... Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), better known by the stage name Little Richard, is an African-American singer, songwriter, and pianist, who began performing in the 1940s and was a key figure in the transition from rhythm & blues to rock and roll in the mid-1950s. ... Boyz II Men is an American R&B/soul singing group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born October 13, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, model, and fashion designer who rose to fame in the early 2000s. ... The Boys Choir of Harlem (also known as the Harlem Boys Choir) is a choir located in Harlem, New York City, United States. ... Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, and actress. ... Lilian Annette Garcia[1] (born August 19, 1973) is an American singer and ring announcer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

When Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China in 1972, this song was played by Chinese as the welcome music. Interestingly, the Chinese characters for United States literally mean "Beautiful Country."[2] Nixon redirects here. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Japanese name Kanji: Hiragana: Korean name Hangul: Hanja: Vietnamese name Quốc ngữ: Hán tá»±: A Chinese character or Han character (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a logogram used in writing Chinese, Japanese, sometimes Korean, and formerly Vietnamese. ...

Idioms

"From sea to shining sea" is an American idiom meaning from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean (or vice versa). Many songs have used this term, including the American patriotic songs "America, The Beautiful" and "God Bless the USA". In addition to these, it is also featured in Schoolhouse Rock's "Elbow Room". Although the United States has borders with the Arctic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, the phrase refers only to the West and East coasts of the Continental U.S. A term similar to this is the Canadian motto A Mari Usque Ad Mare ("From sea to sea.") See also Manifest Destiny. An idiom is an expression (i. ... God Bless the USA is an American patriotic song written by country musician Lee Greenwood. ... Schoolhouse Rock! is a series of 46 educational shorts featuring rock songs about schoolroom topics, including grammar, science, economics and American history and politics. ... Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ... The continental United States refers (except sometimes in U.S. federal law and regulations) to the largest part of the U.S. that is delimited by a continuous border. ... This article is about the history and influence of the concept. ...

Takeoffs

A song as popular and familiar as "America the Beautiful" inevitably gets used out of its proper context or time frame, for humorous effect. Some examples:

• In 1971, the song inspired the cross-country Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash race from New York to Los Angeles that later was the topic of several movies with Burt Reynolds

• A Far Side cartoon from 1982 (reprinted in Sherr's book) shows Columbus nearing land, with his crew of conquistador types, and saying, "Look, gentlemen! Purple mountains! Spacious skies! Fruited plains! ... Is someone writing this down?"

• In one of his comedy club routines in the early 1960s, Flip Wilson did a Columbus story with an African-American twist... ironically, the catchphrase repeated by Queen Isabel (an early "Geraldine") is "Chris gon' find Ray Charles!" When his Columbus sees land, he comments, "It's America, all right... just look at those spacious skies... those amber waves of grain... dig that purple mountain's majesty... I'll bet there's fruit out there on the plain!"

• In his satirical, musical record album, The United States of America, Volume 1, Stan Freberg plays Columbus, Jesse White plays a skeptical King Ferdinand, and Colleen Collins does Queen Isabella (mimicking Tallulah Bankhead), resulting in this bit of dialogue: [3]

Ferdinand: Look at him in that hat! Is that a crazy sailor?

Isabella: Crazy? I'll tell you how crazy! He's a man with a dream, a vision, a vision of a new world, whose alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears, with purple mountain majesties above the Two Cents Plain . . .

Ferdinand and Columbus: Fruited!

Isabella: Fruited.

• Mel Brooks, on a talk show, once did an impression of how Frank Sinatra might sing the song, complete with tuxedo, black hat and coat, and cigarette, leaning up against a bar, and rendering the song in "lounge style".

• George Carlin performed a satirical version around 1970, when environmental issues were becoming a hot political topic: [4]

Oh beautiful, for smoggy skies, insecticided grain

For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.

America, America, man sheds his waste on thee

And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea!

• Westboro Baptist Church created an animated video that parodies "America the Beautiful." [5]

• The Chicago-based death metal band Master recorded a parody of "America the Beautiful" on their 1991 album On the Seventh Day God Created...Master but instead called it "America the Pitiful".

• Neil Young recorded a (presumably non-ironic) version for his 2006 folk-rock protest album "Living with War" which criticizes the Bush Administration.

The Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Baker or Cannonball Run, was an unofficial, if not outlaw, automobile race run four times in the 1970s from New York City to Los Angeles. ... Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr. ... This article concerns the Far Side comic strip. ... Clerow Flip Wilson (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an African-American comedian and actor. ... An album (from Latin albus white, blank, relating to a blank book in which something can be inserted) is a packaged collection of related things. ... Stanley Victor Freberg (born August 7, 1926 in Los Angeles) is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, puppeteer and advertising creative director. ... Jesse White (January 4, 1917 – January 9, 1997) was an American character actor who played many roles in television, film and on stage. ... Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bonne vivante. ... Two Cents Plain is a slang term for seltzer water. ... Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, comedian, actor and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... George Denis Patrick Carlin[15] (born May 12, 1937) is a Grammy-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. ... This article refers to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, and is not related to the Westboro Baptist Church of Westboro, Ontario. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Master is a death metal band formed in Chicago, USA in 1983 as the band Warcry fell apart. ... This article is about the musician. ... Living With War is Neil Youngs musical attack on the policies of the George W. Bush administration. ...

Lyrics

Note: some sources omit the second verse, and substitute its refrain for that of the fourth verse.^[1]

O beautiful, for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful, for pilgrim feet

Whose stern, impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;

Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!

O beautiful, for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

'Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!

O beautiful, for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years,

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

Books

• Lynn Sherr's 2001 book America the Beautiful discusses the origins of the song and the backgrounds of its authors in depth. ISBN 1-58648-085-5.

• Barbara Younger has written a children's book about the writing of the song: Purple Mountain Majesties: The Story of Katharine Lee Bates and "America the Beautiful". The book has illustrations by artist Stacey Schuett.

Lynn Sherr is a broadcast journalist, known as a correspondent for the ABC news magazine 20/20. ...

See also

• Jargon of The Rush Limbaugh Show

Rush Limbaugh uses his own on-air jargon on his radio show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, some of which he invented and some of which he merely popularized. ...

References

1. ^ The United Methodist Hymnal © 1989

Sources/external links

• MP3 and RealAudio recordings available at the United States Library of Congress
• 1913 Lyrics (eight stanzas)
• Lyrics (four stanzas)
• Midi file of America the Beautiful from The Cyber Hymnal
• Sample recording of America the Beautiful in Spanish
• America the Beautiful in today's news media.
• Biography of the songwriter, Katharine Lee Bates, part of a Series poet's biographies.
• America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs named for Katharine Lee Bates' words.
• Page with lyrical transcription and low fidelity recording of Ray Charles's version of the song